Advertisement

Journal of Business Ethics

, Volume 144, Issue 3, pp 637–659 | Cite as

Media Bias and the Persistence of the Expectation Gap: An Analysis of Press Articles on Corporate Fraud

  • Jeffrey Cohen
  • Yuan Ding
  • Cédric Lesage
  • Hervé Stolowy
Article
First Online:
Received:
Accepted:

Abstract

Prior research has documented the continued existence of an expectation gap, defined as the divergence between the public’s and the profession’s conceptions of auditor’s duties, despite the auditing profession’s attempt to adopt standards and practices to close this gap. In this paper, we consider one potential explanation for the persistence of the expectation gap: the role of media bias in shaping public opinion and views. We analyze press articles covering 40 U.S. corporate fraud cases discovered between 1992 and 2011. We compare the auditor’s duties, described by the auditing standards, with the description of the fraud cases as found in the press articles. We draw upon prior research to identify three sources of the expectation gap: deficient performance, deficient standards, and unreasonable expectations. The results of our analysis provide evidence that (1) the performance gap can be reduced by strengthening auditor’s willingness and ability to apply existing auditing standards concerning fraud detection; (2) the standards gap can be narrowed by improving existing auditing standards; and (3) unreasonable expectations, however, involve elements beyond the profession’s sphere of control. As a result, the expectation gap is unlikely to disappear given the media’s tendency to bias, with an overemphasis of unreasonable expectations in their coverage of frauds and press articles tending to reinforce the view that the auditor should take more responsibility for detecting fraud, irrespective of whether this is feasible at a reasonable cost. In addition to the primary role of the press in perpetuating the expectation gap, a second reason for continuation of the expectation gap is that the rational auditor will have difficulty in assessing subjective components of fraudulent behavior.

Keywords

Expectation gap Media bias Corporate fraud Management behavior Press Fraud-related professional standards 
This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

Notes

Acknowledgments

The authors thank workshop participants at the University of Manchester, the 2011 annual congress of the French Accounting Association, the 2011 EIASM Workshop on Business Ethics, and the 2013 CAAA annual meeting for helpful comments as well as the comments of an anonymous reviewer, Markus Milne (the Editor), and Lori Holder-Webb. Cédric Lesage and Hervé Stolowy acknowledge the financial support of the HEC Foundation (Project F0802). They are members of the GREGHEC, CNRS Unit, UMR 2959. Yuan Ding acknowledges support from the CEIBS Research Funding. They also acknowledge Claire O’Hana for her able research assistance.

References

  1. Abramowitz, M. (1992). A pillar’s fall shakes Ohio town; Phar-Mor founder’s troubles generate bafflement, worry. The Washington Post, (August 7), F01.Google Scholar
  2. Ackerman, E., & Kang, C. (2001). Silicon valley software company sinks under its own ambition. Knight Ridder Tribune Business News, (Feb 15).Google Scholar
  3. Ahrens, F. (2002). History of conflict for ex-rite aid chief; indictment paints picture of Grass as an arrogant bully. The Washington Post, (June 22), E1.Google Scholar
  4. AICPA. (2002). Statement on auditing standards (SAS) No. 99: Consideration of fraud in a financial statement audit. American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.Google Scholar
  5. Akerlof, G. A., Dickens, W. T., & Perry, G. L. (2000). Near-rational wage and price setting and the long-run Phillips curve. Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, 2000(1), 1–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  6. Allen, M. (2002). Peregrine woes called ‘disaster’. San Diego Business Journal, 23(30), 1.Google Scholar
  7. Alphonso, C. (2000). A man of apparent contradictions software tycoon devoted to charities. The Globe and Mail, (August 8), B9.Google Scholar
  8. Anand, V., Ashforth, B. E., & Joshi, M. (2005). Business as usual: The acceptance and perpetuation of corruption in organizations. Academy of Management Executive, 19(4), 9–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  9. Andon, P., & Free, C. (2014). Media coverage of accounting: The NRL salary cap crisis. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 27(1), 15–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  10. Anonymous. (1991). Fraud and the auditor. Accountancy, 107(1170), 1.Google Scholar
  11. Anonymous. (1997). SEC leaders discuss the value of independence. Journal of Accountancy, 183(2), 9.Google Scholar
  12. Anonymous. (1998). Al Dunlap—exit bad guy. The Economist, Retrieved from http://www.economist.com/node/136843.
  13. Anonymous. (2002a). Adelphia founder reports health woes. AP Online, (June 30).Google Scholar
  14. Anonymous. (2002b). Enron and auditing—the lessons from Enron. The Economist, Retrieved from http://www.economist.com/node/976011/print.
  15. Anonymous. (2002c). A legal watchdog group files suit against Halliburton and vice president Dick Cheney after Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman and Herz LLP commenced class action suit against Halliburton company and Arthur Andersen, LLP on behalf of Halliburton shareholders. PR Newswire, Retrieved from http://www.thefreelibrary.com/A+Legal+Watchdog+Group+Files+Suit+Against+Halliburton+and+Vice...-a088832185.
  16. Anonymous. (2004). Suit against Kozlowski, Tyco subsidiary’s board to continue. Corporate Officers and Directors Liability Reporter, 20 (December 27).Google Scholar
  17. Anonymous. (2006). Michael Dell to receive CEA’s digital patriots award at March 27 dinner. Business Wire, Retrieved Oct 17, 2006, from http://www.mobilitytechzone.com/news/2006/10/17/1987705.htm.
  18. Arrington, C. E., Hillison, W. A., & Williams, P. F. (1983). The psychology of expectations gaps: Why is there so much dispute about auditor responsibility? Accounting and Business Research, 13(52), 243–250.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  19. Ashforth, B. E., & Anand, V. (2003). The normalization of corruption in organizations. Research in Organizational Behavior, 25, 1–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  20. Barker, D., & Knight, K. (2000). Political talk radio and public opinion. Public Opinion Quarterly, 64(2), 149–170.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  21. Barrett, A. (1998). Cendant: Who’s to blame? A loose accounting culture may lie at the core of the debacle. Business Week, 70 Retrieved Aug 16, 1998, from http://www.businessweek.com/stories/1998-08-16/cendant-whos-to-blame.
  22. Bazerman, M. H., Moore, D. A., Tetlock, P. E., & Tanlu, L. (2006). Reports of solving the conflicts of interest in auditing are highly exaggerated. Academy of Management Review, 31(1), 43–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  23. Beam, A., & Warner, C. (2009). HealthSouth: The wagon to disaster. Fairhope: Wagon Publishing.Google Scholar
  24. Benau, M. A. G., Humphrey, C., Moizer, P., & Turley, S. (1993). Auditing expectations and performance in Spain and Britain: A comparative analysis. The International Journal of Accounting, 28(4), 281–307.Google Scholar
  25. Benediktsson, M. O. (2010). The deviant organization and the bad apple CEO: Ideology and accountability in media coverage of corporate scandals. Social Forces, 88(5), 2189–2216.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  26. Brown, R. G. (1962). Changing audit objectives and techniques. The Accounting Review, 37(4), 696–703.Google Scholar
  27. Brubaker, B. (2002). Merck’s accounting questioned; co-payments were booked as revenue. The Washington Post, (July 9), E01.Google Scholar
  28. Bushee, B. J., Core, J. E., Guay, W., & Hamm, S. J. W. (2010). The role of the business press as an information intermediary. Journal of Accounting Research, 48(1), 1–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  29. Byron, C. (2002). Cooking with PwC—how does an auditor miss $25m in fake sales? New York Post, (July 29), 31.Google Scholar
  30. Carpenter, B., & Dirsmith, M. (1993). Sampling and the abstraction of knowledge in the auditing profession: An extended institutional theory perspective. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 18(1), 41–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  31. Caruso, D. B. (2002). For years, Rigas treated Adelphia like a family business. Associated Press Newswires, (May 25).Google Scholar
  32. Castellano, J. G. (2002). Restoring public confidence. Journal of Accountancy, 193(4), 37–39.Google Scholar
  33. Christensen-Szalanski, J. J. J., & William, C. F. (1991). The hindsight bias: A meta-analysis. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 48(1), 147–168.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  34. Clikeman, P. M. (2009). Called to account—fourteen financial frauds that shaped the American accounting profession. London: Routledge.Google Scholar
  35. Cohen Commission. (1978). Report of the commission on auditor reasonability’s: Conclusions and recommendations. American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.Google Scholar
  36. Cohen, J., Ding, Y., Lesage, C., & Stolowy, H. (2010). Corporate fraud and managers’ behavior: Evidence from the press. Journal of Business Ethics, 95(Supplement 2), 271–315.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  37. Cohen, J., Tsfati, Y., & Sheafer, T. (2008). The influence of presumed media influence in politics: Do politicians’ perceptions of media power matter? Public Opinion Quarterly, 72(2), 331–344.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  38. Cole, T. J. (2002). Tenure at Peregrine haunts Richardson. Albuquerque Journal, (October 27), A1.Google Scholar
  39. Core, J. E., Guay, W., & Larcker, D. F. (2008). The power of the pen and executive compensation. Journal of Financial Economics, 88(1), 1–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  40. Creswell, J., & Prins, N. (2002). The emperor of greed; with the help of his bankers, Gary Winnick treated Global Crossing as his personal cash cow—until the company went bankrupt. Fortune, 145(June 24), 106.Google Scholar
  41. Davis, H., & McLeod, S. L. (2003). Why humans value sensational news: An evolutionary perspective. Evolution and Human Behavior, 24(3), 208–216.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  42. Davison, W. P. (1983). The third-person effect in communication. Public Opinion Quarterly, 47, 1–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  43. Dennis, I. (2010). What do you expect? A reconfiguration of the audit expectations gap. International Journal of Auditing, 14(2), 130–146.Google Scholar
  44. Dewing, I., & Russell, P. (2001). Bridging the expectations gap. Accountancy, 128(1295), 98.Google Scholar
  45. Drake, M. S., Guest, N. M., & Twedt, B. J. (2014). The media and mispricing: The role of the business press in the pricing of accounting information. The Accounting Review, 89(5), 1673–1701.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  46. Dyck, A., Morse, A., & Zingales, L. (2010). Who blows the whistle on corporate fraud? Journal of Finance, 65(6), 2213–2253.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  47. Dyck, A., Volchkova, N., & Zingales, L. (2008). Corporate governance role of the media: Evidence from Russia. Journal of Finance, 63(3), 1093–1135.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  48. Ecker-Ehrhardt, M. (2010). Aid organizations, governments and the media, the critical role of journalists in signaling authority recognition. In S. Koch-Baumgarten & K. Voltmer (Eds.), Public policy and mass media: The interplay of mass communication and political decision making (pp. 106–124). London: Routledge.Google Scholar
  49. European Commission. (2010). Green paper: Audit policy: Lessons from the crisis. Google Scholar
  50. Feldman, S. (1988). Structure and consistency in public opinion: The role of core beliefs and values. American Journal of Political Science, 32(2), 416–440.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  51. Fischhoff, B. (1975). Hindsight does not equal foresight: The effect of outcome knowledge on judgement under uncertainty. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 1(3), 288–299.Google Scholar
  52. Gans, J. S., & Leigh, A. (2012). How partisan is the press? Multiple measures of media slant. Economic Record, 88(280), 127–147.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  53. Gates, V. (2005). Parkman hits at Beam’s drinking, womanizing in Scrushy trial. Birmingham Business Journal (January 28), Available at http://www.bizjournals.com/birmingham/stories/2005/01/24/daily23.html?page=all.
  54. Gendron, Y., & Spira, L. F. (2009). What went wrong? The downfall of Arthur Andersen and the construction of controllability boundaries surrounding financial auditing. Contemporary Accounting Research, 26(4), 987–1027.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  55. Gentzkow, M., & Shapiro, J. M. (2006). Media bias and reputation. Journal of Political Economy, 114(2), 280–316.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  56. Gentzkow, M., & Shapiro, J. M. (2010). What drives media slant? Evidence from U.S. Daily newspapers. Econometrica, 78(1), 35–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  57. Goelzer, D. L. (2006). Lessons from Enron: The importance of proper accounting oversight. Speech on July 26, 2006 in Tokyo, Japan. Retrived from http://pcaobus.org/News/Speech/Pages/07262006_GoelzerTokyoAmericanCenter.aspx.
  58. Graber, D. A. (1972). Personal qualities in presidential images: The contribution of the press. Midwest Journal of Political Science, 16(1), 46–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  59. Groseclose, T., & Milyo, J. (2005). A measure of media bias. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 120(4), 1191–1237.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  60. Gurun, U. G., & Butler, A. W. (2012). Don’t believe the hype: Local media slant, local advertising, and firm value. Journal of Finance, 67(2), 561–598.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  61. Guy, D. M., & Sullivan, J. D. (1988). The expectation gap auditing standards. Journal of Accountancy, 165(4), 36–46.Google Scholar
  62. Hays, C. L. (2003). Kmart accuses former officials of misconduct. The New York Times, (January 25), 1.Google Scholar
  63. Herdman, R. K., & Neary, R. D. (1988). Can the AICPA close the expectation gap with new standards? Financial Executive, 4(2), 9–12.Google Scholar
  64. Hilzenrath, D. S. (2001). MicroStrategy auditor to settle investor suit; accounting giant to pay $55 million. The Washington Post, (May 9), A01.Google Scholar
  65. Humphrey, C., Moizer, P., & Turley, S. (1992). The audit expectations gap—plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose? Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 3(2), 137–161.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  66. Humphrey, C., Moizer, P., & Turley, S. (1993). The audit expectations gap in Britain: An empirical investigation. Accounting and Business Research, 23(91A), 395–411.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  67. Humphrey, C., Turley, S., & Moizer, P. (1991). An empirical dimension to expectations. Accountancy, 108(1178), 30.Google Scholar
  68. Hurtt, R. K. (2010). Development of a scale to measure professional skepticism. Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory, 29(1), 149–171.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  69. IFAC [International Federation of Accountants]. (2005). International standard on auditing (ISA) 240: The auditor’s responsibility to consider fraud in an audit of financial statements. Handbook of International Auditing, Assurance, and Ethics Pronouncements.Google Scholar
  70. IFAC [International Federation of Accountants]. (2009). International standard on auditing (ISA) 240 revised: The auditor’s responsibility to consider fraud in an audit of financial statements. Handbook of International Auditing, Assurance, and Ethics Pronouncements, IFAC.Google Scholar
  71. Jackson, J. (2005). Sensationalism in the newsroom: Its yellow beginnings, the nineteenth century legal transformation, and the current seizure of the American press. Notre Dame Journal of Legal Ethics & Public Policy, 19(2), 789–816.Google Scholar
  72. Jennings, M. M. (2006). The seven signs of ethical collapse: How to spot moral meltdowns in companies.. Before it’s too late. New York: St. Martin’s Press.Google Scholar
  73. Jensen, M. (1979). Toward a theory of the press. In K. Brunner (Ed.), Economics and social institutions (pp. 267–287). Dordrecht: Martinus Nijhoff Publishing Company.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  74. Joe, J. R. (2003). Why press coverage of a client influences the audit opinion. Journal of Accounting Research, 41(1), 109–133.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  75. Johnson, J. L., Ellstrand, A. E., Dalton, D. R., & Dalton, C. M. (2005). The influence of the financial press on stockholder wealth: The case of corporate governance. Strategic Management Journal, 26(5), 461–471.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  76. Kadlec, D. (2005). Down…But not out - prosecutors are swarming around him, but Hank Greenberg is as focused as ever—and not giving an inch. How he rose so far and fell so fast. Time (U.S. Edition), (June 13), 50.Google Scholar
  77. Kaplan, R. L. (1987). Accountants’ liability and audit failures: When the umpire strikes out. Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, 6(1), 1–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  78. Kleemans, M., & Hendriks Vettehen, P. G. J. (2009). Sensationalism in television news. In R. P. Konig, P. W. M. Nelissen, & F. J. M. Huysmans (Eds.), Meaningful media: Communication research on the social construction of reality (pp. 226–243). Nijmegen: Tandem Felix.Google Scholar
  79. Kuhnen, C. M., & Niessen, A. (2012). Public opinion and executive compensation. Management Science, 58(7), 1249–2172.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  80. Kuypers, J. A. (2002). Press bias and politics: How the media frame controversial issues. Westport: Praeger Publishers.Google Scholar
  81. Levi, M. (2006). The media construction of financial white-collar crimes. British Journal of Criminology, 46, 1037–1057.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  82. Liggio, C. (1974). The expectation gap: The accountant’s Waterloo. Journal of Contemporary Business, 3(3), 27–44.Google Scholar
  83. Lin, A. (2005). Former Tyco executives guilty on most counts; high-profile verdicts could bolster Morgenthau’s re-election prospects; earlier Tyco acquittal; reputation enhanced. New York Law Journal, (June 20), 1.Google Scholar
  84. Lippman, W. (1922). Public opinion. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company.Google Scholar
  85. Lord, R. (2011). Le-Nature’s ringleader gets 20 years called largest case of financial fraud in region’s history. Pittsburg Post-Gazette, (June 21), B-1.Google Scholar
  86. Lott, J., & Hassett, K. (2014). Is newspaper coverage of economic events politically biased? Public Choice, 160(1/2), 65–108.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  87. McCarthy, K. J., & Dolfsma, W. (2014). Neutral media? Evidence of media bias and its economic impact. Review of Social Economy, 72(1), 42–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  88. McNulty, S. (2002). Patriarch’s departure leaves mix of feelings. Financial Times, (January 25), 16.Google Scholar
  89. Michel, L. (2002). Rigas confident of vindication. Buffalo News, (July 30), A1.Google Scholar
  90. Miller, G. S. (2006). The press as a watchdog for accounting fraud. Journal of Accounting Research, 44(5), 1001–1033.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  91. Nelson, M. W. (2009). A model and literature review of professional skepticism in auditing. Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory, 28(2), 1–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  92. Palmer, P. A. (1938). Ferdinand Tönnies’s theory of public opinion. Public Opinion Quarterly, 2(4), 584–595.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  93. Parker, L. D. (1994). Professional accounting body ethics: In search of the private interest. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 19(6), 507–525.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  94. Peterson, K. (2002). Peregrine probes test Moores’ corporate character. The San Diego Union-Tribune, (July 28), 1, 2, 3.Google Scholar
  95. Porter, B. (1993). An empirical study of the audit expectation-performance gap. Accounting and Business Research, 24(93), 49–68.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  96. Porter, B., hÓgartaigh, C. Ó., & Baskerville, R. (2012a). Audit expectation-performance gap revisited: Evidence from New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Part 1: The gap in New Zealand and the United Kingdom in 2008. International Journal of Auditing, 16(2), 101–129.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  97. Porter, B., hÓgartaigh, C. Ó., & Baskerville, R. (2012b). Audit expectation-performance gap revisited: Evidence from New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Part 2: Changes in the gap in New Zealand 1989–2008 and in the United Kingdom 1999–2008. International Journal of Auditing, 16(3), 215–247.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  98. Potter, D. M. (1954). People of plenty. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  99. Power, M. (1997). The audit society: Rituals of verification. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
  100. Price, V., & Tewksbury, D. (1995). News values and public opinion: A theoretical account of media priming and framing. In G. Barnett & F. J. Boster (Eds.), Progress in communication sciences (pp. 173–212). Greenwich: Ablex Publishing Corp.Google Scholar
  101. Qi, B., Yang, R., & Tian, G. (2014). Can media deter management from manipulating earnings? Evidence from China. Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting, 42(3), 571–597.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  102. Reckers, P. M. J., Jennings, M., Lowe, D. J., & Pany, K. (2007). Judges’ attitudes toward the public accounting profession. European Accounting Review, 16(3), 625–645.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  103. Reckers, P. M. J., & Schultz, J. J. J. (1993). The effects of fraud signals, evidence order, and group-assisted counsel on independent auditor judgment. Behavioral Research in Accounting, 5, 124–144.Google Scholar
  104. Reuber, A., & Fischer, E. (2010). Organizations behaving badly: When are discreditable actions likely to damage organizational reputation? Journal of Business Ethics, 93(1), 39–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  105. Schroeder, M., Schiller, Z., & Atchison, S. (1992). Top of the news: Investigations a scandal waiting to happen —- why did the alleged fraud at Phar-Mor go undetected for so long? Business Week, (August 24), 32.Google Scholar
  106. Searcey, D., Young, S., & Scannell, K. (2005). Ebbers is sentenced to 25 years for $11 billion WorldCom fraud. The Wall Street Journal, (July 14), A1.Google Scholar
  107. Sikka, P., Puxty, T., Willmott, H., & Cooper, C. (1992). Eliminating the expectations gap? Certified Research Report No. 28, Certified Institute of Chartered Accountants.Google Scholar
  108. Sikka, P., Puxty, A., Willmott, H., & Cooper, C. (1998). The impossibility of eliminating the expectations gap: Some theory and evidence. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 9(3), 299–330.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  109. Singleton-Green, B. (1990). Auditors and the expectation gap. Accountancy, 105(1160), 62.Google Scholar
  110. Solomon, D., Carrns, A., & Terhune, C. (2003). HealthSouth faked profits, SEC charges—a $1.4 billion overstatement cited as CEO is accused of ordering `massive accounting fraud’. The Wall Street Journal, (March 20), C1.Google Scholar
  111. Stafford, P. (2013). Best of the web: How greed has ruined Groupon. SmartCompany, Retrieved Mar 21, 2013, from http://www.smartcompany.com.au/technology/information-technology/30885-best-of-the-web-how-greed-has-ruined-groupon.html#.Google Scholar
  112. Stremfel, M., & Palazzo, A. (2002). Rise and fall of global pipe dream. Los Angeles Business Journal, 24(February 18), 1.Google Scholar
  113. Terhune, C., & Lublin, J. S. (2002). Unlike others, Dollar General issues a mea culpa—amid Enron, other scandals, discount retailer apologizes for its accounting problems. The Wall Street Journal, (January 17), B1.Google Scholar
  114. Thompson, A. C., & Bernstein, J. (2009). Toothless watchdogs? Auditing the audit firms. Dow Jones & Company, Retrieved May 11, 2009, from http://online.barrons.com/news/articles/SB124183169766802819?tesla=y.
  115. Thussu, D. K. (2007). News as entertainment—the rise of global infotainment. London: Sage Publications.Google Scholar
  116. Tricker, R. I. (1982). Corporate accountability and the role of the audit function. In A. G. Hopwood, M. Bromwich, & J. Shaw (Eds.), Auditing research: Issues and opportunities. London: Pitman Books.Google Scholar
  117. Trompeter, G. M., Carpenter, T. D., Desai, N., Jones, K. L., & Riley, R. A, Jr. (2013). A synthesis of fraud-related research. Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory, 32(Supplement 1), 287–321.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  118. Tomberlin, M. (2003). Trappings of wealth. HealthSouth CEO may have wanted the good life a little too much. The Star-Ledger, (March 27), 57.Google Scholar
  119. U.S. Congress. (2002). Public company accounting reform and investor protection act (Sarbanes-Oxley act). Google Scholar
  120. United States General Accounting Office. (2002). Financial statements restatements - trends, market impacts, regulatory responses, and remaining challenges. GAO 03-138.Google Scholar
  121. Van, J., & Alexander, D. (2002). WorldCom discloses $3.8 billion accounting scheme. KRTBN Knight-Ridder Tribune Business News: Chicago Tribune. Retrieved from http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2002-06-26/news/0206260350_1_worldcom-cfo-concern-that-important-information-accounting-problems.
  122. Van Peursem, K. A., & Hauriasi, A. (1999). Auditors’ reputation: An analysis of press coverage in New Zealand. Accounting Forum, 23(1), 93–108.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  123. Warming-Rasmussen, B., & Jensen, L. (1998). Quality dimensions in external audit services—an external user perspective. European Accounting Review, 7(1), 65–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  124. Weil, J. (2003). Freddie Mac’s charity case—conflict-of-interest questions stem from ex-auditor’s role at recipient of largesse. The Wall Street Journal, (July 21), C1.Google Scholar
  125. Weil, J., & Schroeder, M. (2002). Waste Management suit by SEC zings Andersen. The Wall Street Journal, (March 27), C1.Google Scholar
  126. Wood, A. (1992). Lawsuit tells how fraud worked. Business Journal Of The Five-County Region, (November 15), 3.Google Scholar
  127. Wood, A. (1993). Monus confidant: Everyone knew everything. Business Journal of the Five-County Region, (August 15), 3.Google Scholar
  128. Zhang, P. (2007). The impact of the public’s expectations of auditors on audit quality and auditing standards compliance. Contemporary Accounting Research, 24(2), 631–654.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
  129. Zikmund, P. E. (2008). Reducing the expectation gap. CPA Journal, 78(6), 20–25.Google Scholar

Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015

Authors and Affiliations

  • Jeffrey Cohen
    • 1
  • Yuan Ding
    • 2
  • Cédric Lesage
    • 3
  • Hervé Stolowy
    • 3
  1. 1.Carroll School of Management at Boston CollegeChestnut HillUSA
  2. 2.China-Europe International Business School (CEIBS)ShanghaiChina
  3. 3.HEC ParisJouy-en-JosasFrance

Personalised recommendations

Cite article

Buy options